President Barroso made the following statement after the European Commission meeting on 7 June:

"Today, we have discussed Croatia in the College. I believe we are very close to concluding negotiations with Croatia, at least on the part of the Commission. We are about to reach a decisive moment in Croatia’s long journey towards EU membership. I believe that there will be some very good news in this regard on Friday.

The Croatian authorities, and particularly the current government, have worked very hard to meet the conditions they have been set. They will soon be able, I am sure, to reap the rewards of that hard work.

For our part, the Commission has led negotiations with Croatia on the basis of strict conditionality, but always in a spirit of good faith and fairness.

I also think that Croatia’s accession to the EU, when it comes, will be good news for its people, good news for the European Union, and also good news for all the peoples of the region."